SterekBingo - Bite Immunity
by AkinaSky
Summary: The world changed on a Tuesday, Stiles only knew that because he'd been eating a bunch of tacos when the man in the restaurant rose from the dead and now they were going to have to survive together in a whole new world. This is a Sterek story, Don't Like Don't Read (There is also implicit Sheriff Stilinski is involved with Argent but it's not the focus of this story.)


**Author's Note: this is one of the stories that I wrote for Tumblr's SterekBingo, most of which are going to be one shots with nothing connected but I am in the midst of writing a sequel for this one. Thanks and Enjoy.**

The world changed again on a Tuesday. Stiles Stilinski only knew that because he had been mowing through a pile of tacos in respect for the day. It was something he tried to do biweekly, especially since tacos weren't his favorite food to eat but they got the job done. And they were cheap, that was important to him at the moment. Not to mention the fact that his father wasn't supposed to eat it, that always seemed to make a cheap meal better.

He'd invited Scott, his supposed best friend and by extension Liam had invited himself or Scott did it. One or the other, Scott didn't seem to do anything without the angry little beta these days. To be fair though, Stiles knew the kid had gotten a lot better and it was unfair to judge him on what he'd been like in high school but it was the first Tuesday of his break and the first Tuesday of being back in Beacon Hills, awaiting word from the FBI on where he could start his training now that he'd worked through the school program with mindless intensity.

So yeah, he was jealous and petulantly resentful that Scott couldn't leave his baby beta at home so they could enjoy this together. He ripped another large bite off his soft taco and watched as Liam fawned over his alpha and Scott soaking up the attention. _God why didn't they just go ahead and kiss already!_ Stiles rolled his eyes with the thought as Liam petted, _seriously petted_ , Scott's hand before he went back to his tacos. And because Liam was Liam, he was complaining about how they tasted and ruining everything. Seriously, why was he here anyway if he hated the tacos that much?

Until something else happened and Stiles stopped caring about the tacos.

The old man collapsed in the middle of the restaurant, no preamble or warning just the fall, not even a whimper that they could hear. Stiles's attention snapped over to the man who was suddenly so still. Scott jumped up and almost put his hands on his waist like Superman in his normal 'I'll save you' mentality before he rushed over to the man. Scott had some training from his mother and from working in the vet clinic. Liam moved to kneel next to his alpha and Stiles scooched a little closer but not near enough to get in the way. He didn't know what to do so getting in the way would only make things worse.

The man wasn't moving, Scott checked his pulse even though with his werewolf hearing he would be able to detect if the man's heart was beating. Stiles inched over a little more and looked down at the man's lax face. He'd seen a lot of death in his short life; werewolf attacks, hunters destroying werewolves, people being shot right in front of him, people drowning… the deaths in Beacon Hills go on and on, but this stillness and a bloodless death Stiles hadn't seen that before. People didn't die from natural causes a lot in this town. Okay, so some of them definitely did but Stiles had never been around to see it.

"Scott, he's gone, we need to call someone," Stiles declared, he knew better than his friend what the protocol was for the FBI operatives and also how his dad was going to deal with this.

His friend nodded and pulled out his phone to make the call, Scott described what happened and they were sending a unit to secure the scene. They told Scott not to leave, since he was a witness to the death so they all moved backwards to sit near their table but on the floor still.

"It's weird," Stiles whispered.

"What?" Scott asked.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone die like that," he responded.

"It happens, death isn't all gun shots and decapitations," Scott said, keying into what Stiles wasn't saying, from their shared history while Liam was nodding along with what Scott said with mindless intense alpha lust. Stiles looked around at the other civilians in the place who were standing or sitting at the farthest booths possible without leaving the scene, understanding that they would have to give statements as well. The workers were cleaning mechanically behind the counter, like that was going to fix the death in the lobby.

Three minutes ticked by, one second at a time seeming sluggish and difficult and they listened and Scott tilted his head, signaling that the ambulance or the deputy might be getting close when the man suddenly moved and surged upwards with a rattling gasp, but the sound didn't have any air behind it, pressing forward. It was just this almost soundless groan. Scott leaned forward and called out, "Hey? Mister?"

The man's eyes were marbled and unseeing and Stiles thought about the broadcasts that had been coming through the nationwide channels for the last couple weeks. Things he'd seen as he was traveling home from the FBI. Something about the dead coming back to life. Something about the eyes, and the sounds, Stiles tried to scoot farther away as he called out to his friend.

"Scott, can you hear the heartbeat? Get away from him!"

"Why?" Scott asked, confused as he reached out to touch the man when the previously dead man turned and sank his blunted teeth into Scott's arm viciously. The werewolf screeched in surprise, tried to pull away and his skin ripped with a disgusting rending sound which made Stiles cover his mouth and will the desire to barf back down. He really didn't want to see those tacos again. The motion broke a couple of the man's teeth and Stiles dragged Liam away while Scott punched the undead man across the temple to get him to release while everything in the restaurant erupted in chaos as people rushed the exits, running over each other in haste.

Zombies. The Walking Dead. The Undead. Crank. Roamers. All of the above.

There had been rumors for weeks on the media but they hadn't seen anything here in town but apparently that had come to an end and he wondered if this was the first or just happened to be the first, he'd been present for. Stiles watched as Scott pulled his bloody arm away from the creature, flicked out his claws and sliced the man across the throat and he fell back before the man started struggling up again, gaping wound and all. Stiles grabbed one of the chairs and fumbled to stand quickly without slamming his face into the ground. Scott punched the zombie man again and Stiles used the leg of the chair to crush the man's skull, using the weak entry of the eye socket before he stumbled backwards away from the body that was well and truly still now.

"He bit me! He was dead then he wasn't and he bit me!" Scott raved and Stiles rolled his eyes, of course he wasn't going to notice the gruesome act that his 'best friend' just enacted in front of him to save all of them. Stiles pushed off the ground and moved over to drag Scott to his feet while Liam moved towards the door. The sirens were getting closer and they needed to go.

"Scott, we gotta run! Let's go!"

His friend stared down at the bloody teeth marks on his arm then nodded and they headed out the door. Stiles dragged the other two away from the building and towards the jeep then realized it was Parrish so he stopped and waited. The benefit of having a Hellhound on the force was that he was in the know and they wouldn't have to hide what happened, maybe they would be able to get some answers now instead of waiting to talk to his dad later.

"Stiles? Scott?" Parish called out, catching sight of the slowly healing wound on Scott's arm.

"Hey, so you know all those broadcasts about zombies?" Stiles asked his dad's second in command.

"Yeah?" Parrish asked.

"Well that guy turned and bit Scott, we need to call someone. We need to figure out if Scott is going to turn."

"What?" Scott squeaked.

Stiles ignored him, shoving Liam into the back seat of the jeep and Scott into the passenger seat. He turned back to Parrish, "Call me later with any information you need. Scott cut its throat and I had to—" Stiles swallowed, "You'll see what I had to do but it's down. Be careful."

Parrish's eyes glittered and flashed, flames flickering deep inside them and nodded, "I got this Stiles, I will let your dad know what's happening. I should just burn the body so it's sure to not come back. Do you think it's a one-time thing?"

Stiles shook his head, "I don't think so, I just think it took longer to get here. Maybe you should check for bite marks, just in case," Parrish nodded and Stiles got into the jeep and started driving.

"I'm going to turn into a zombie!" Scott screeched and Stiles winced, he'd figured that Scott's voice wouldn't go that high anymore but he'd been wrong. The only consolation was that Liam was whimpering and rubbing his super sensitive ears in the back of the jeep while the boring ole human was still able to function without crying because his alpha is having a panic attack and screeching at a level only dogs should be able to hear. Stiles chuckled, _dogs could hear it_ , he thought before he sobered.

Trying to keep a level head and not laughing at his best friend he said, "Please don't screech at me while I'm driving, I think I might be deaf now."

Scott reached into his pocket and fumbled his phone, watching the blood as it welled on his skin from the wound. He dialed before Stiles had a chance to even wonder who he was calling, let alone make some sort of 'Ghostbusters' reference and Scott put it on speaker phone so they could all hear the ringing on the other end. Someone answered with a terse, _'Scott?'_

Stiles knew that voice, it was Derek.

Scott was already talking, "Hey so I got bit by a freaking zombie! I don't know what's going to happen to me and I didn't know who else to call. Help?"

It was a little rude but the Derek hadn't started with niceties either, Stiles didn't really hear much even with the speaker phone on, over the sound of the jeep as well as Scott's whining and heavy breathing. Then Scott was nodding.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course, I'm sure," Derek responded with a snort, speaking clearly enough that Stiles could hear him now. "I wouldn't give you bad information, if I didn't know I would just tell you so."

"I'm not going to turn," Scott announced even though he heard and Stiles snatched the phone away from his friend, turned off the speakerphone and pressed it to his ear.

"How do you know?"

Stiles could almost hear Derek rolling his eyes through the phone, "Stiles. Nice to know you are still around. When did you get back from the training program? I am kind of amazed that you were able to even finish. Congrats. I know because I was bit a couple weeks ago, didn't change. The zombies are being created by some sort of airborne virus that is activated through death or a bite from another zombie. Werewolves aren't susceptible to viruses. That's the answer that we got from one of our contacts when it happened to me. The outbreak is clearly worse here then it is in Beacon Hills."

"Then get your ass home!" Stiles snapped, a little discombobulated that he didn't even know that Derek was in danger. He didn't like that Derek left Beacon Hills not long after the events with the fear monster thingy. Derek couldn't stand to stick around with someone who still didn't want to have anything to do with him. When Scott needed something, he might call Derek but any other time Scott would rather chew off his own hand then ask for help from Derek. Crap leftover from the beginning of their relationship, bro hugs notwithstanding. It had only taken a day or two for that brotherhood to wear off again. By then, Stiles was heading back to school and leaving Beacon Hills again.

"Stiles, breathe," Derek said gently but his tone brooked no arguments. Stiles took a couple of deep breaths, not even realizing his chest was hurting with the shallow huffs he was expelling. His hand was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. Stiles took a deep breath to clear the pressure in his chest as he made the turn towards the McCall house and tried again.

"Look, I know that you don't want to be here but it seems like there is less and less places to run. I know my dad would be willing to let you sleep on our couch until we could make a game plan. If you've already seen this, maybe we can work together."

"We were already heading towards Beacon Hills for many of the reasons you mentioned, maybe we can keep the town safe. Maybe."

Stiles frowned, "Who is 'we'?"

"Goodbye Stiles," Derek hung up.

Stiles mouth snapped closed from the abrupt end to the short conversation and tossed the phone back to Scott who was staring at his arm like he could make it heal faster by watching. The phone actually bopped Scott in the forehead, snapping him out of the trance he was in "Rudewolf," Stiles muttered.

"What did I do?" Scott stammered, all hurt puppy dog.

"Not you," Stiles returned and drove the rest of the way to Scott's to drop him and Liam off before he headed back to his dad's place. Since Scott wasn't going to turn into a zombie, he didn't need to stay there and he wanted to see his dad anyway. Stiles walked inside, listening for a minute just because it was habit these days, assessing a place when he stepped into it. His dad wasn't home. Stiles walked into the living room and flopped down onto the couch, pressing his face into the back of the far side of the couch and sighed. Everything was coming apart and the world was going to look completely different before his first assignment. He did all that work and now, nothing. At least with the training he had, Stiles could help his dad in town because he wasn't leaving this place without his dad.

After that first zombie appeared, everything went to hell pretty quickly. The hospital shoved all the sick into quarantine and it spread, they turned the nurses and doctors which destroyed the towns ability to fight the sickness at all. Melissa was thankfully not at work when the place was overrun and Stiles dropped out of the FBI radar to don a deputy uniform to help with the evacuation of people, though no one really knew where to go. They hadn't really known how bad it was outside of Beacon Hills until it was already at their doorstep. Stiles learned quickly how to take headshots and make reports and the number just kept rising.

Soon they were holed up inside the school because there was food and showers, bathrooms and rooms to sleep in as well some pretty strong walls to deter the undead. It was the first time Stiles had been back since he graduated over a year before.

Stiles walked along the halls, checking on the rooms where people were settled down for the night, it was quiet because noise just brought the zombies to them, he had a gun on one hip and a hatchet on the other side. His hand rested comfortable on the hatchet as he double checked on his dad who was in one of the rooms that they had dubbed the "War Room" because they could, Chris Argent and Melissa were standing with him as well as Parrish and a few of the other deputies. The Sheriff station had been blown up a couple days ago because it had been overrun and something happened. They lost three deputies in the explosion and Stiles had walked through the remains of the station to make sure none of them would rise mostly because he wasn't going to let his dad do it.

The front door rattled and Stiles looked towards it, frowning. There was someone there, but it was after curfew, Stiles walked forward cautiously. The rattling needed to stop because it would just draw unwanted attention but if it was the undead then he couldn't really do anything about it without opening the door. He came close enough to the door to see through the little square windows just as someone snapped, "Stiles! Let us in!"

"Derek?" Stiles whispered, finally catching sight of that recognizable scowl and eyebrows. There were other people with him though Derek's hulking form was keeping him from identifying any of them.

"Stiles, they are coming this way!"

"Well stop making noise!" Stiles snapped and Derek immediately stopped doing whatever he was to the door and several of his other people turned back to face the parking lot. Stiles looked around, noticing the heads popping out of open classrooms and he waved them off, reaching for the keys to the chains. If it was anyone else, Stiles wouldn't even consider letting Derek in but the phone call where Derek said that 'we' were coming back to Beacon Hills had been months ago and he'd been desperately hoping that Derek hadn't died on his way here or anything.

Derek said they couldn't be turned, Scott didn't turn so there was a good chance that he wasn't inviting catastrophe unless he waited too long. He grabbed the right key and fumbled to unlatch the lock and release the chain links from the lock. He hurried to unwind the chain then looked up at Derek who was staring at him, his eyes darting to the side then coming back, "I promise, we're here to help you. Trust me, Stiles."

That did it, Stiles pushed open the door and they tumbled inside due to their haste to be safe, a mass of bodies on the floor while Derek spun around and helped Stiles pull the door shut and affix the chain around the doors again. He clicked the lock into place as the zombies pressed against the door making the chains and everything rattle. Stiles took a deep breath and turned to Derek and couldn't stop the smile that was forcing its way onto his face.

"You're here?" Stiles whispered.

"I wanted to be here sooner," Derek returned.

Stiles nodded then leaned in to give Derek a hug. The werewolf tensed a little then sank into the feeling of being held. Stiles breathed in the Derek smell, buried under the musk of living on the road and despite the trek they had made to here from wherever they were Derek was relatively clean. Stiles pulled back to look at the others who'd tumbled into the entry of the school and his jaw dropped in surprise.

"Jackson Whittemore, what the heck are you doing back in Beacon Hills?" Stiles asked, then realized that Danny and Ethan were both there. Of course. It didn't surprise him that Ethan was there but it wasn't surprising that they had somehow gotten to Danny as well. He had always been Jackson's best friend, well his only friend.

Jackson snorted, "Hello to you too Stilinski. You wanna stop pawing at our alpha there."

Stiles turned in surprise to Derek, his eyes passing over Kira, Cora and Isaac as well. The surprise about his pack was lessened by the fact that Derek was apparently an alpha again. He pulled his hand away from Derek's arm, "You're an alpha?" he whispered.

Derek shrugged and glared at Jackson for speaking or something. Truthfully there is always a good reason to glare at Jackson, "It came back, apparently it was always there—just waiting for me to be ready for it again. When it came back, I called my pack and they offered fealty, then the world changed. Haven't had a heck of a lot of time to figure things out. I didn't know if Scott would freak out, having another alpha in town so I didn't tell him."

Stiles shrugged, Scott is always a little weird about stuff like that. But this was Derek Hale and he had more right to be back in Beacon Hills than anyone else. This was his home no matter how little time he'd actually spent there. "You're welcome here Derek, all of you are." He looked again and realized they were all holding onto packs and sleeping bags so he motioned for them to follow. He led them first to the War Room and moved to the side to show Derek and the others.

"Dad, look who the wolf dragged in?"

The Sheriff looked up and his eyes lightened a lot and Stiles frowned at the man, "Derek! You made it!" he came over and pressed close for a hug and Derek returned the hug better than he did with Stiles and he was left mouth agape again.

"What the what?" he demanded.

Derek and his dad both turned and gave him a raised brow/judging look which he figured was totally unnecessary. Stiles pointed at his dad but nothing came out of his mouth. He just turned back to the other members of Derek's pack who were just smirking at him.

"Stiles, put them up in the same room as us, there should be plenty of room. Scott is rooming with Melissa and the rest of his betas so there shouldn't be any trouble." Which made it sound like his dad knew about Derek's alpha status and what the hell was that about?

Stiles nodded, and waved for them to follow, looking back as Derek hugged his dad again and his dad said something so quiet that he didn't think any of the other wolves heard him let alone the lowly humans in the room. He walked across the hall and into one of the classrooms, all the desks had been removed a week ago and thrown outside in the back of the school and there were air mattresses were spread all over the floor. Stiles and his dad were in one of the corners and apparently Scott was going to be in another room, as of today not that Stiles had heard that. He waved the Hale pack to the open space off to the right and watched as they dropped everything on the floor with muted thuds.

Derek dropped his hiking bag, piled high with his sleeping bag then looked back at his pack, "Get everything set up, introduce yourself to people." He turned back to Stiles, "Do people know about the supernatural here, in this camp?"

Stiles thought about that for a second, "I mean the supernatural like Scott and Liam know but its not really common knowledge. We have been working under the 'keep the werewolf thing hush-hush' same as always because we didn't think that it would be taken well on top of zombies. Why?"

"Other places, werewolves are 'coming out' and alphas will offer their bite for a price, whether that is food and a place to stay or a car or whatever they need. I just need to know what's going down here."

"Are you selling your bite?" Stiles hissed, he didn't know why that was a problem. If it was saving lives then he had every right to do it but Derek had never offered him the bite and now he was giving it away. It was Bite Prostitution!

Derek clearly smelled and heard exactly how Stiles felt about that, "No, Stiles, some werewolves are selling their bite. Notice I don't have a bunch of new betas. I haven't offered it to anyone besides Kira, who was bitten but for some reason the Kitsune background protected her as well. Thankfully. Her abilities are irreplaceable when we are on the road."

Stiles looked over at Kira and watched as Cora pressed close to Kira in a hug/scent marking move with Isaac on the other side. He had no doubt that had been a tough thing for all of them to not know.

"Sorry, that's not really any of my business," Stiles responded and turned to the door to leave them to it only to have Derek fall in next to him.

"Can we talk?" Derek asked.

Stiles shrugged and kept walking. He headed back out into the hall and gestured towards the front door. Derek waved him forward and Stiles checked the front, heaving a sigh when he saw that the zombies were dispersing. They would be able to make their runs tomorrow for more supplies and check on the other places were survivors were holed up. There was a small group in the hospital, after it was overrun a bunch of people cleaned it out and took over. Stiles kept in close contact with one of the nurses there, in case they needed to trade or make runs to the nearest store.

"Stiles?" Derek asked.

He turned and pointed towards the stairs and they walked up them and Stiles motioned for Derek to talk if he wanted to.

"I wasn't going to pretend that your father and I hadn't kept in touch."

"Why would he keep in touch with you? He arrested you for god sakes!"

"Yeah, for something that wasn't my fault. What's the problem? He asks me questions about the supernatural and I think he likes checking in on me and the others. He cares, Stiles, just like you."

Stiles glared at him, "You left Derek! And now your back and there are even more secrets. We're dealing with zombies, so you know what I don't really think this other stuff really matters right now or ever. I'm glad your back, its going to help us when we have to leave."

Derek frowned, "You're going to attempt to leave?"

"I don't think we can stay here for long, it seems like the best option would be to get on the move since there isn't a way to protect the town limits. More are on the way. We can't keep leading the herds away from the town."

Derek pulled him to a stop, "And there are more out there. Pretty soon everything out there is going to be overrun. We came here to escape the worst of it. Out there is the worst of it. You can't go out there."

Stiles pulled his hand away, "And we can't really stay here."

He walked away, leaving Derek to follow on his rounds or not. When he didn't follow, Stiles took a couple of deep breaths and turned to finish what he was doing before heading back down to find his father. In the War Room his dad was still standing with Argent so Stiles walked up to him and tapped his dad on the arm.

"Can we talk?"

Noah nodded to Argent and followed Stiles out into the hall and away from the Hale pack, "What's up kiddo?"

"You been talking to Derek, all this time?"

Noah sighed, "Derek is a good man, you were the one who told me that. What's the problem?"

"Maybe because you both hid it from me," Stiles hissed. "Did you think I didn't care about him too?"

"Stiles," Noah started gently, "I wanted to make sure that he was doing okay and I needed someone who wasn't my kid or my kid's best friend to give me the unvarnished supernatural truth sometimes. And now he's here. He can help us. I didn't mean to hide it from you."

Stiles leaned in closer, "Dad the only thing he can really do is turn us. And I'm not ready for that." With that he turned and walked away. He still needed to make sure that everyone had their rations for the night then he was going to bed.

When Stiles woke up, he made sure to check around the school to see where the lowest numbers were so they could make a plan for the food run today. When he was done, he headed to the cafeteria and found most of the thirty inhabitants already there eating their morning rations. Stiles headed over and grabbed his protein bar and water bottle before he shoved in next to his dad. Noah was sitting with Argent, Derek, Jackson and Cora. They were talking about the day's run.

"So, there is a large mart about five miles out of Beacon Hills proper," his dad was saying as he sat down and opened his food bar. "We set some music to play so it should be clear. We are taking two cars; the jeep and a van for the most space possible. Argent, myself, Scott and Isaac are going to take this round."

"Excuse me?" Stiles demanded coolly, "Since when am I _not_ going on the food run."

"Because I need you here with Derek and the others, making a hospital run. We are getting low on a couple things including insulin for one of our little girls."

Stiles looked across the room to see the little red headed girl, Stella Martin, a much younger sister to Lydia Martin who had left town and not returned. They didn't know where she was. Stella had found her way here with Natalie and she had diabetes, she'd been diagnosed around her fifth birthday and for some reason instead of leaving town, they came here. Stiles had some theories about that but he didn't want to say anything out loud only to find out that he was wrong. So yeah, if this was about medicine for Stella, then he was going to do it even if it meant going somewhere without his dad. He hated not being with his dad though.

Stiles glared at his best friend, "You keep him safe Scott, I mean it."

Scott nodded and they moved on to strategic planning of how to get in and out again. They used small teams and tried to have werewolves going with them every time but when Scott and Malia broke it off, she took off for who knows where and Stiles's dad rarely trusted Liam at his back, partially because Stiles didn't trust the kid and he couldn't find it in himself to convince his dad of anything different. Most of the baby betas all scattered with family so most of the inhabitants left in Beacon Hills were humans. It made things difficult to plan.

With Derek and his pack, hopefully this was going to become a lot easier. Actually, Stiles wished that Derek was going with his dad but the Sheriff still made the plans and everyone followed suit. After the world ended, no one wanted to be in charge of the little camps in town and his dad just did it because he was Noah Stilinski and that's the kind of man he was. For now, Scott would take care of his dad and Argent trusted Isaac, from their time together in Paris.

Right after breakfast, everyone dispersed with their plans for the day and declaring that they would return well before curfew. Despite the zombies that roamed around town, people still went out, some went out and tried to clear the undead a couple of blocks at a time and others sometimes went to their old homes to get clothes or belongings that they could share with the small community. Stiles went back to the corner where he kept his stuff and packed for the run to the hospital, grabbing the backpack he would use to carry everything back when he heard the small voice say, "'Tiles, don' go."

Stiles turned to see that Stella was leaning against the door frame, her mother nowhere in sight. He walked over to her and leaned down, pushing the hatchet and the gun out of the way so he could move a little easier.

"Stels, where's your mama?" he asked and pressed a hand to her waist gently, not to hold her steady or in one place but just to make contact. He had a soft spot for this kid and didn't really know why, besides the fact that she was Lydia's little sister.

"She wai'ing fo me."

"I am going to the hospital so we have enough medicine. Why don't you want me to go?"

"Saw bad thing," she whispered and pressed a hand to his cheek, her fingertips rubbing into the day-old scruff he hadn't been able to shave off yet, mostly didn't care to most days. It wasn't like there was a maintenance requirement for his job or anything, it was the zombie apocalypse after all.

Stiles's stomach dropped at the words and he frowned, "What do you mean?"

Stella shrugged and turned to run off towards her mom without another word. Natalie smiled and waved at Stiles, mouthed the words 'thank you' and took Stella's hand. For a while, Lydia and Stella's mom had been sure she was going to lose both of her daughters; first Lydia to some unknown in the world and Stella to the sickness in her body that couldn't be cured and had to be managed in a world that wasn't around to make her medicine anymore. Once they ran out of stock, they were going to have to make a choice, he wasn't going to let her get sick again.

Stiles didn't know if Stella had the same abilities as her elder sister but she shouldn't have it because as far as Stiles knew she'd never had a near-death experience which had awakened Lydia's abilities.

Maybe they were wrong in thinking that was the only way.

But she was six and he had no intention to dragging her through what it would take to get a straight answer. It had always been difficult dragging a straight answer out of Lydia when she was sixteen. He was traveling with Mr. Sourwolf, Stiles would be fine.

Stiles grabbed the rest of his stuff and met Derek at the front door where the werewolf was waiting with his sister along with Parrish who was going to lock the door and would let them back in at their appointed time. He looked out the door and saw there was a lull in zombie activity, the others had already left and pulled focus from the front door since the store was farther away than the medical run.

"You both going? You know I can take care of myself, right?" Stiles snarked. "I've been doing this since the beginning here. Hell I was running with wolves and surviving against the supernatural at the age of sixteen."

Derek rolled his eyes, "Just think of us as your super strength pack mules."

"You said it," Stiles snorted and opened the door. Derek and Cora moved through the opening, drawing the attention of a zombie. Cora stabbed it in the head quickly while Stiles closed the door, waving to Parrish who was repositioning the chains. Stiles and the Hales moved quickly off to the edge of the nearest car, his backpack bouncing on his shoulders a little, he should have repositioned the shoulder straps again. He would have to fix it when they got there.

They dispatched a handful of zombies on the way then walked in through the hidden passage and met with the door man there. It was one of the other lacrosse players turned mechanic or something, Stiles thought his name was Barton or Barker or something. Didn't know for sure. They hadn't been friends or anything.

"Hey dude, we are here for our stipend, definitely need insulin."

The guy nodded and waved them in, "Is there going to be a food delivery today?"

Stiles nodded, "It might be tomorrow since they had to drive to the food drop and they are going to have to divvy it up and then deliver."

Barton/Barker nodded and Stiles walked in through to meet up with the nurses to get their 'order'. He was pleased to take several loads of insulin which would keep Stella safe for a while longer and they were in small cooling units as well, the school still had power but they were trying to use as little as possible because Stiles and his dad were guessing that when the time came, the power stations were going to shut down and not come back on.

There was also antibiotics, pain meds, gauze and a few other day to day needs that would help in the zombie apocalypse and Stiles also took a written inventory to give to his dad, who was keeping track of everything in town because his dad was trying to make sure that everyone got their fair share and they would be able to work together in harmony for as long as possible. To do that, he needed to know what was there and what they were running out of. Stiles did what he could to make sure that his dad had the support he needed to run the town but since they were all living in enclosed spaces and making runs from place to place, there hadn't been a lot of day to day crime. Nobody had even considered acting against their neighbors since the dead started rising.

Derek and Cora packed up their bags with the goods, Stiles grabbing some of the lighter stuff and shoving it into his bag. The whole thing took about twenty minutes and they were all ready to run back out of the hospital again.

"Is this always so civil?" Cora asked as they slid along the side of the hospital, retracing their steps back towards the school.

Stiles nodded, "Mostly, we all know there is no point in hoarding when we need something and they need something. Small town fellowship for the win I guess. Thankfully people like my dad and Melissa and Argent have made it pretty easy to transition into a peaceable arrangement. I gotta say though, I think we are one bad day from anarchy, my dad and I are just going to hold onto this as long as possible."

"Yeah, that's how it happens," Derek agreed and they fell silent as they moved through the town proper, killing zombies that thankfully didn't look like neighbors. One of the first Stiles had to put down was Greenberg, he'd died from a bite and Stiles stayed with him so he didn't have to be alone and he'd put a bullet in the fellow BHHS alumni's head. Stiles could still see it when he slept and dreamed, hopefully he wouldn't have to take action against anyone who was actually living in the school with them.

They were rushing up towards the front of the school when Derek suddenly shoved Stiles forward and he dropped to the ground. Stiles turned, ready to rip the guy a new asshole when he saw Scott, blood covering the left side of his body.

"Scott? What happened? You shouldn't be back yet!"

Scott was panting, holding onto the arm that Derek was using to contain him. "We were attacked, there was a fenced off area inside the big mart and they got out. Your dad…"

Stiles frowned while his heart rate ratcheted up in fear, "My dad what? Scott?"

Scott's chin tucked in that way it does when he's fucked up and Stiles wobbled on his feet, Cora grabbed him and tried to keep him steady.

"Scott!" Stiles shouted and Derek looked around and Stiles did too but he didn't see any zombies. He looked back at Scott who was slumped in Derek's grip.

"I left them, to get help."

Stiles grabbed Scott by the ear and some of his hair and dragged him towards the doors of the school. Scott whimpered, trying to pull Stiles's hands off of him while Derek and Cora followed after them. Stiles slammed his open palm on the door then shifted back to glare at his best friend, "You left my father out there! Why? Why would you think that was the right thing to do?"

Scott whimpered, "Stiles, I wanted to get back here for help. They are stuck in the mart. Your dad is hurt, Argent and Isaac were staying to protect him and I came back to get help. We couldn't take them all on by ourselves."

The door opened and Stiles used his free hand to grab the edge of Scott's shirt and shoved him inside, sending the bag he was holding in behind Scott as gently as he could since the insulin was in there. Derek let out a weird howl as he handed the bag he was holding to Parrish and so did Cora. By the time everything was handed off Stiles turned and found Jackson and Ethan standing inside the door waiting for Parrish to get out of the way.

"I'm going," Stiles told all of them and the four werewolves followed.

Parrish called his name, "Stiles, you know if your father is bit, he can't come back here. It's too important for us to allow an outbreak to happen here. Even for him."

Stiles nodded and took off running though he was barely listening, Stiles wasn't going to leave his dad out there alone. He kept up the fast pace, knowing that the wolves could outpace him if they wanted but Stiles was just getting more tired. When he stumbled to a standstill, Jackson and Cora moved ahead to drop a couple of the wandering dead while Derek grabbed Stiles's shoulder.

"Stiles, we can get there even faster if you let me carry you."

Stiles glared at him, "I am not letting you bridal carry me."

Derek's eyebrow rose in question, "Why would I carry you like that? I meant on my back."

Stiles flopped his arms because he didn't know what Derek bridal carrying him had come to mind either or how much it made his heart patter a little harder. No one had any time for this madness, a high school crush on the werewolf that really should have been over by now was not Stiles's first priority during a freaking zombie apocalypse.

"Make a choice dude and deal with your crush later!" Jackson snapped in full on douche form.

Stiles slapped his own face then looked over at Derek who was staring at him in shock. Then he turned around without dignifying Jackson's words of Stiles's reaction with a response and offered his back. Stiles nodded even though no one was looking at him before he gripped Derek's broad shoulders and did a little hop. Derek caught and set his legs for comfort at his sides where they seemed to fit better than they could have imagined. Stiles didn't want to think of puzzle pieces slotting together but he did anyway.

"Hold on," Derek cautioned then he was moving. Stiles gripped his legs around Derek's stomach as tightly as he dared and his arms around Derek's shoulders as they ran, making sure they didn't ride up and choke the guy. It was dizzying, the scent of Derek's in his nose and the world actually blurring a little around him. The other werewolves were keeping point in front of Derek and one behind him until they made it to the mart where his dad and the others were in record time.

Derek stopped and Stiles didn't wait to jump down and rush towards the front of the store. He jerked to a stop but it wasn't because he wanted to stop, Stiles turned to look and found Derek holding his wrist. "I need to get in there Derek. My dad is in there. Argent and Liam. Scott left them all in there, alone."

Derek nodded but then motioned to Jackson and Ethan who nodded and preceded them inside the doors. Stiles glared at the other wolves as they passed but understood the intelligence of sending wolves in first.

"What do you hear?" Stiles whispered as Derek and he got in the door and Cora brought up the rear.

"Scott's not an alpha anymore is he?" Derek asked instead.

Stiles looked at him in shock, no one was supposed to know that. Liam and the others were pretending it was a short-term issue but Scott hadn't shined red in over a month. But he didn't have any right to that story, "What's the point of bringing that up now? I need to know about my dad."

"If he's been bit?"

"No," Stiles snarled.

"Stiles, he's hurt. I can smell the blood and the rot of the zombies. If he's been bit, I'm going to offer him my bite."

Stiles shook his head, trying to keep the tears at bay even as they threatened. "You going to sell it to him?"

Derek shook his head, keeping his tone gentle, "Stiles, he's important to me. He's important to you. I will offer it for nothing, except the desire that where you and he go, so do we."

Stiles shrugged, not knowing what to say when they rounded a corner and found the source of the groaning. There were zombies all pressing against a fence but off to one side there was a build up against a broken part of the fencing. Beyond the fence were the others. Liam was standing at the fence, holding the zombies at bay, Stiles couldn't see his dad or Chris but he could hear them.

"Derek?" Stiles whispered.

Cora, Jackson and Ethan beta shifted and went for the nearest zombies while Stiles pulled his hatchet and headed into the fray. Derek was right behind him, they stood side by side. Soon the zombies were all on the ground and Stiles rushed to the side and caught sight of his dad for the first time. There was blood pooling out from a bite in his shoulder and Stiles cried out before he could stop himself, the vision of his mother sick and dying flashed to the forefront of his mind. Argent was sitting next to his dad, holding a hand over the wound while his other hand held the sheriff's hand.

Argent was talking to him, "Come on Noah, you got this. Stay with me."

"Dad!" Stiles sobbed as he slid down by his dad's other side.

"Stiles, you shouldn't be here for this."

Stiles looked down at the wound then back at Derek while the other wolves stood guard over them. Derek moved to kneel next to Stiles and touched his dad's chest, "Noah, I can give you the bite, it will supersede the zombie bite and protect you. You will be a werewolf."

Noah looked at Stiles then back to Chris, "I don't know?"

"Noah, it would save your life, Derek is a good alpha. He's going to make sure that you make it through the change. We need you here, I need you here." Argent's voice wavered just a little.

Noah shook his head, "You hate werewolves."

"No, I don't. Well I don't necessarily trust them but I would rather you be a werewolf then a zombie that I have to kill. You can't ask me to do that, don't make me do that."

Stiles looked between Chris and his dad, wondering what the hell was going on there. As far as he knew, his dad and Argent had a civil relationship and they worked together to keep Beacon Hills alive in this new aftermath. Suddenly he was wondering what else was going on. There were plenty of times that they went off to patrol or make runs together but that didn't really equate with the passion they were showing now for each other. Argent seemed far more affected than Stiles would have imagined possible.

"The longer we wait, the harder the change is going to be for you," Derek said gently, touching Noah's neck gently. "Especially with the blood loss and your age."

Noah nodded, "Just do it."

Stiles took a deep breath while Derek motioned to Chris to open his dad's shirt while he spoke again, "I am going to bite you as close to your heart as I can, try to circumvent the other bite. Bear with me, hold on to Stiles and we'll see you soon."

Noah nodded and while Derek turned back to the task at hand, Stiles leaned down and pressed his hand to his dad's cheek, "Okay old man, you are going to get to eat all the crappy food from now on and I am not going to be able to say a thing. Look forward to that, okay?"

"Like we have any," Noah said with a smile then winced as Derek bit into his flesh, Stiles refused to look because he didn't want to see it happen. He whispered comforting words until Noah's eyes slid back to show the whites of his eyes and Stiles turned to Derek. "Is he okay?"

"His heart is beating just fine, a little fast from the adrenaline and pain but so far so good. We are going to have to stay here for a while, moving him could cause more blood loss than his human body is capable of dealing with and the more the Bite has to repair, the harder its going to be for him."

Stiles nodded and looked at Argent, "Did you bring anything with you for possible wounds? Wraps or anything?"

Argent nodded and waved to Liam who was carrying a backpack. Stiles and Argent set to work cleaning and packing the wounds on his father then he looked at Derek.

"We should get the food they came here for."

Derek motioned to the other werewolves and they jumped to action, grabbing packs and boxes they could load into the vehicle that were waiting for them outside. Since he had a bunch of immune werewolves, Stiles figured they should get as much as possible.

"Liam, make sure we get everything on the people's wish lists," Stiles commanded.

He heard the other beta snort, "You're not my alpha."

Stiles turned to glare at him and Liam flinch under his stare, "You don't have an alpha right now bucko so don't start with me."

Liam swallowed with an audible click and wandered off after Jackson and Ethan. Cora was still standing at the opening in the fence, keeping watch. Stiles sat back and waited for his dad's eyes to open again.

Derek watched as Stiles stared at his father on the ground, hoping for all their sakes that Noah opened his eyes soon. They needed to get moving and he could feel the Bite working its healing power. The Sheriff was going to be okay but if they moved him to soon while he was still bleeding steadily, they could be dealing with complications and for someone in his fifties the Bite was already a higher failure rate.

And Stiles needed his father.

The rest of them needed Noah, he was the best man to keep the remaining people of Beacon Hills alive.

Derek shifted to watch the way Chris Argent was holding the ex-Sheriff's hand tightly in between his while Stiles held the wrap over his shoulder and another wrap over his chest where Derek bit him with the intent to save his life.

"I'm going to kill him!" Stiles whispered and Derek shifted to look at the young man. He hadn't really given himself the opportunity to look at Stiles, not really anything more than side eyed glances. He'd grown into his bulk, he was no longer the scrawny kid who could annoying a saint into cursing. Derek was sure he was still capable of being annoying but now he was a stronger, lean and powerful version of his high school self. His hair was long enough to flop over his forehead and he had scruff on his face. Something Derek hadn't known the teenager was capable of and it was incredibly attractive look for him.

"Derek," Cora admonished from across the space. He looked at his sister and shook his head but she knew the scent of arousal same as him. Instead she spoke, "We are going to have to take a chance and get him back to the school, the Sheriff is going to be able to rest there better."

"If I go back there right now, I am going to shove my best friend into a ring of Mountain Ash and leave him there forever and then I am going to hand him to a group of undead to see how many times he can heal before it stops," Stiles said quietly and Derek didn't doubt it. He'd smelled and sensed exactly how angry Stiles had been when he realized Scott had left his father behind and ran for help.

"We could take him to the hospital, let him rest up there for a few days and give an update," Argent offered.

Derek looked at Stiles, "What do you think?"

"Why are you asking me? Aren't you the all-knowing Alpha?" Stiles demanded.

Cora and Jackson both snorted at that, Jackson could be heard a distance into the building. Derek rolled his eyes at the undeniable lack of seeming respect he got from his family. "Stiles, I can feel him getting stronger and he would be better off in the relative calm of Beacon Hills. Plus, we are exposed here. Even werewolves can be overrun by zombies if there is enough of them. You'll be in danger and so will Chris and your dad."

Stiles sighed and nodded, "Okay, let's get him out of here."

Between Derek and Argent, they were able to get Noah off the ground and out of the building. They put him gently into the vehicle and Stiles shoved into the seat next to his dad, glaring at Argent who was trying to squish into the small seat. Argent held his hand up in submission and climbed into the front seat with Derek who was driving. The other wolves jumped into the full bed of the truck and they started back towards the hospital. Derek knew it wouldn't take long to get them there and Stiles was going to stay with the Sheriff at the hospital which would leave the school without its natural leaders.

"Is Parrish in charge when your dad is not at the school?"

Stiles didn't say anything so Argent interjected, "I am his second, Stiles and Parrish share in a lot of the duties and I would head back to the school as soon as I can because they need an update. I can't stay with him at the hospital."

"Why would you want to?" Stiles asked unkindly.

"Because I care about your father, is that a problem?"

"What is this?" Stiles snapped and Derek watched in the rearview mirror as Noah flinched, hearing his son's tone.

"Guys, this isn't the time."

Stiles fell silent, looking morose as he held his dad close and didn't look anywhere near the hunter in the front seat. They arrived at the hospital in stilted uncomfortable silence where Argent jumped out and headed for the front door to get help while Derek and Stiles got Noah out of the back seat.

Argent was speaking to the 'B' guy, "We just need a private room for him to rest in. He's going to be fine but we need privacy."

B guard looked at the wounds, his eyes widened, "You can't bring him in here if he's been bit. Not even him!"

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Look this is the man that has been keeping you fed for months now, just let us have a private room with a lock on the door. He's not going to turn. Its just a flesh wound."

"A flesh wound from a zombie," B guard reiterated and Stiles was starting to vibrate.

He turned to Derek again, "We need somewhere else to take him. Do you still have access to the loft? I don't think there is a lot of zombie activity in that part of town."

Derek nodded, he could just break open the door if they needed to. The slider was heavy enough to keep zombies out if necessary. He still owned the loft but with the end of the world, holding on to keys of any kind had quickly become an annoying luxury no one could afford. Breaking in and hot-wiring cars was the name of the apocalyptic game.

Loading Noah back into the truck was a little harder just because he was starting to stir, causing more pulling along the healing skin. Stiles and Argent got him settled and they got back into the truck. Cora and Liam had already given some of the food to the people guarding the entrance of the hospital. Jackson and Ethan also jumped out of the back and Derek sent them back to the school so they wouldn't miss curfew, sleeping outside in zombie infested towns is still crappy even when someone is immune to the bite. Derek wasn't leaving Stiles and his father. Argent didn't seem likely to leave them so they were just going to have to let him.

"Cora, you should go back to the school with the others," Derek said as he was getting into the driver seat again. She shook her head and jumped onto the back of the truck. Derek shrugged and they drove off. The loft was a short drive off and they got Noah up the stairs with very little trouble. Derek was able to locate one of his spare keys and the door was surprisingly unbroken. They slipped inside and put Noah on the bed near the back of the open space. Stiles immediately sat down on the mattress next to him and Argent took up position on the other side of the Sheriff.

Cora stopped next to Derek and looked towards the bed, "You need to tell him."

"I don't need to do anything," Derek whispered back.

"Your friendship with Noah had a lot to do with Stiles all this time and you smelled what Jackson did, and what all of us did. He doesn't know where he stands with you and now you have a deeper connection with his father then he will."

Derek frowned at her, "What are you talking about?"

"He was angry about the Argent thing, we don't even know for sure what that is about and Stiles is pissed because someone has a claim on his father, different than his own. You need to let him know that the claim isn't on Noah, it's the claim he has on you."

Derek rolled his eyes and Cora walked away, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Stiles?" Noah croaked and Derek rushed over to the bed to look down to see the sheriff's eyes flashing gold.

"Dad, you're changing! You're going to be okay!"

Noah nodded and tightened his hand around Stiles's hand in comfort, he shifted to look at Derek, "Thank you Derek."

Derek nodded, touching Stiles's back to balance them all in the moment then Noah turned to Argent.

"Chris, its going to be okay. You need to go back to the school and keep everyone from panicking. I was hurt but no one needs to know I was bitten unless they already know about werewolves. Did they figure it out at the hospital?"

"Yeah, they wouldn't let us in the door, we are going to have to figure that out."

Derek kept his eyes and senses on Noah, the ex-sheriff reached out and touched Argent's arm, "You need to get in front of it Chris, for all of us."

Argent took a shuddering breath, "Look Noah, I don't want to leave you here. I want to be here. To see you get stronger before I go."

Noah smiled a little, looking more like a grimace, "What would the girls think?" he grinned.

Derek didn't know what that was about and apparently neither did Stiles who was giving both men a confused frown.

"Natalie and Melissa know better than expect me to leave you here when I could stay."

"Natalie Martin?" Stiles finally burst out.

Noah and Argent both looked at Stiles, like they'd forgotten they had an audience for this weird exchange. "Hey kiddo, that's a long and confusing story. Not one I am going to share with you now. Later."

Derek suddenly realized why he thought it was weird the way the other two men smelled so much like each other, something he'd assumed was because of the strangely close quarters of the classrooms where everyone bunked together. He shook his head, trying to get the visual to leave his head and the mention of the women made things even more confusing. Did they have some foursome going on? Derek hadn't really seen Natalie Martin or Melissa McCall so he didn't know what they smelled like though it wasn't really any of his business either way.

Apparently, Noah Stilinski was a much more interesting man than he'd ever let on.

Noah looked back at Argent since Stiles fell into a sullen silence, "You need to go Chris. The community's continued survival is more important than my comfort at the moment and you know it. If I'm not there, they need you."

Argent finally nodded, pressed a hand to Noah's head before he got up and waved at the others and left the loft. Stiles was still staring at his dad in shock.

"What the hell was that Dad?"

"That was none of your business son. Now I need to sleep, everything still hurts."

Derek squeezed Stiles's shoulder a little and the human stepped away from his father. They walked over to the other side of the room and Derek settled Stiles on the floor and sat down next to him, "Your dad's going to be fine. Think about that."

"He's also in some weird thing with Argent. When the hell did that happen?"

"What would be the problem if there was something going on?" Derek asked gently.

"Because he didn't tell me, he turned to Argent! I always wanted him to move on after my mom but I got used to him only looking to me. And now he's talking to you and I didn't know, he has a thing with Argent and maybe Mrs. McCall and Mrs. Martin. Like when did I become the person that he doesn't talk to?"

"You were gone for school for a while, do you tell your dad everything? About the things that you consider it to be a part of your private life? People you may have been seeing or sleeping with? Things like that?"

Stiles deflated, "No I guess not. Maybe it just hurts that Argent's acceptance was suddenly more important than mine."

"I doubt that's true though it probably seemed that way. Chris Argent was a hunter and hated werewolves while you have always been a supporter so maybe that's the reason. He knew you were going to accept him," Derek responded, reaching out to take Stiles's hand. Stiles looked down at their joined hands then looked back up at Derek again.

"You're going to be more connected with him now too."

Derek sighed, "Never. Stiles, he is always going to be bound to you, he loves you and did this so you wouldn't lose him too."

"I'm going to though," Stiles said with a shrug, "Not completely but I remember what it was like after Scott was turned. He's never really been the same. Scott is pretty much a selfish douche, which was only reiterated with what happened today. I mean sometimes he's the greatest friend in the world but he's just been so different since being turned."

Derek squeezed Stiles's hand again, "Its not like that, Scott was young and so a lot of the things about him were dictated by hormones, then the change from the Bite. Your dad is going to be very similar in all or most ways, he's not going to listen to me just because I'm his alpha and honestly, I'm not going to give him commands. He's more of a mentor than a beta, if it's about his safety or yours, I will order him down but other than that," Derek shook his head, "You're not going to lose him to me."

"I lost a bit of him today," Stiles whispered and he tugged his hand away from Derek's hold. He didn't force the grip, letting Stiles pull away. He looked up and stared at Derek, "Do you know why I'm still human?"

Derek scowled, "Because you don't want to be a werewolf. You believe it's a death of self. You basically just said that."

"Okay, yeah a little but not mostly. I'm not a werewolf because the right alpha never asked me."

Derek's heart sped up a little as Stiles leaned in and pressed a hand to the side of Derek's neck, he cleared his throat, "Oh?"

"I would never let Peter Hale put his teeth in my skin and Scott knew not to ask but someday, if I need it I want you to know that you were always the right alpha. I trust you to put your teeth here," Stiles's fingers reached out and grabbed Derek's hand. He positioned Derek's fingers over the pulse in his throat and Derek could not only smell the truth but he could feel it under the press of skin and calluses.

Cora groaned from her corner of the loft and shouted, "Just tell him Derek!"

Stiles chuckled, joined by Derek's snort of humor as he moved his hands to Stiles's lips, "Would you trust my lips here? Want them there?"

Stiles flushed at the question and nodded. Derek leaned in and pressed a quick closed-mouthed kiss to Stiles's mouth. He pulled back just enough to watch the shimmering happiness in Stiles's eyes.

"This isn't some one-night thing, this is me finally letting you know something that was true a long time ago. I would have given anything to see you safe and happy, but with me. That was always my deepest wish."

Stiles grinned, "You know you are a lot better with your words than a certain Sourwolf I knew back in the day."

"I try," Derek smiled and pressed another kiss to Stiles's palm. "I would never turn you unless you asked me or we were going to lose you. I want you to know that. I always loved that you were stubbornly human and you didn't hate us because of what we were. What I am."

Stiles rolled his eyes answering the easier part of that declaration, "Duh, you are kind of a stickler about consent which is sexy by the way. Just in case you were wondering," Stiles winked.

Derek rolled his eyes while Cora groaned some more, "Shut it little sis," he called out.

"Make me bro!" Cora responded.

Stiles just kept smiling, looking back towards his dad, "Now that we have our ducks in the same pond, help me figure out what the hell is going on with my dad."

Derek groaned, pressing his forehead to Stiles's shoulder in defeat as the human started making assumptions, educated guesses and wild accusations. It was going to be an interesting apocalypse.


End file.
